6.18.07

Hi Everyone,

To begin I apologize for the group email. Each of you has shown such love for Tom you each deserve a personal phone call. Unfortunately I just can't do that right now so beg your forgiveness. Before I get to the good stuff I also ask if you would review the email list and let me know who I have missed. I assure you it is not intentional. Today we met with Tom's surgeon, Dr. Blacklock out of Methodist Hospital. He has confirmed Tom has a tumor the size of a golf ball in the back of his head on the left side. He believes it is a primary tumor which means it sourced in his brain and did not "float" there from a cancer in another part of his body. He does however believe it is malignant which means it is made of aggressive "bad" cells. The immediate action is palliative medicine to reduce swelling and eliminate the chance of seizures. Tom has been on the drugs since 6/15. Next is surgery which happens Friday. Tom will have surgery Friday morning about 8 am and should be back in the ICU about 6 hours later (lots of prep time in there and some recovery). He will stay in ICU for two days or so and then get his own room. The ICU has limited visiting hours and I'll keep you posted on that as I learn more. During the pre-surgery on Thursday Tom will have a body scan to determine if there is a cancer anywhere else. Friday they will learn the type of tumor and be able to categorize it by type. That is the first time we will have an actual prognosis. We do know that surgery never completely kills tumors but must be followed with chemo and or radiation. Tom is strong, healthy and fit. He has an amazing network of love and prayer. We have every reason to believe he will come out of this great. I promise to keep you posted.

Love Theresa